City of Golden Shadow by Tad Williams
City of Golden Shadow (1996) is the first book in Tad Williams’ OTHERLAND quartet. The complicated plot, which is set in the near future, follows a large cast of characters all over the world who have some connection to a huge but secret virtual reality simulation that eventually becomes known as Otherland. The main characters are:
March 8th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Tad Williams | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Gabriel is about to become Archangel. He is required to lead the annual singing of the Gloria on the Plains of Sharon in just a few months with his wife, the angelica, at his side. There is just one problem: Gabriel isn’t married. Faced with this dilemma, he goes to the oracle to find out who he is supposed to marry, and is given the name of a woman, Rachel, but he has no idea where to find her. With the months slipping away before his voice raised in song is the only thing that can turn away the wrath of the god Jovah,
June 16th, 2017. Ruth Arnell and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Sharon Shinn | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton
The Reality Dysfunction, first published in 1996 but just recently released in audiobook format by Tantor Audio, is the first book in Peter F. Hamilton’s NIGHT’S DAWN trilogy which is set in the 27th century in his Confederation universe. Technological and scientific advances have allowed humans to spread throughout the galaxy, colonizing and taming planets, and setting up thriving communities. People are healthy, long-lived, and happy.
For the most part they are at peace,
July 5th, 2016. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Peter F. Hamilton | Audio | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Ancient Shores by Jack McDevitt
Fort Moxie lent itself to timelessness. There were no major renovation projects, no vast cultural shifts imposed by changing technology, no influxes of strangers, no social engineering. The town and the broad prairie in which it rested were caught in a kind of time warp.
A farmer works his land in the far reaches of North Dakota — just a few miles away from the Canadian border. Something pokes from the flat lands that he calls home. He lives in a large basin of prairie-land,
December 4th, 2015. Jason Golomb´s rating: 3.5 | Jack McDevitt | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Not one sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. ~Matthew 10:29
I thoroughly enjoyed this expansive story of space travel and first contact. The Sparrow (1996), a multiple award-winning novel from Mary Doria Russell and the first book in THE SPARROW duology, is wonderfully deep in its exploration of culture clash and how individual experiences, both spiritual and physical, shape those interactions. Russell is at her best in bringing her characters to life and deftly creating three dimensional imagery that are at once understandable,
October 7th, 2015. Jason Golomb´s rating: 5 | Mary Doria Russell | BSFA Award | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones is set in Westeros, a continent that was divided into Seven Kingdoms until the Targaryens and their dragons conquered it. Fourteen years before the story begins, Ned Stark, Robert Baratheon, and Jon Arryn led a rebellion against the mad king Aerys Targaryen. Robert became king, Jon became the King’s Hand, and Ned returned north to govern his lands. Now, Jon has died and Robert demands that Ned come south to help rule the realm.
June 11th, 2011. Ryan Skardal, Rebecca Fisher and Jason Golomb´s rating: 5 | George R.R. Martin | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Perhaps because it was a tad over-hyped for me, perhaps because since its publication there have been several other books and films that tell the story of Merlin’s youth, but T.A. Barron‘s The Lost Years left me a little cold. I enjoyed it well enough, though certain segments dragged a little, but ultimately I think that much of its initial novelty has worn off. What was an innovative look at an unknown aspect of a legendary figure’s life back in 1996 may feel like a somewhat generic fantasy-adventure by today’s standards.
November 23rd, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | T.A. Barron | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Golden Key by Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson, and Kate Elliott
Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson, and Kate Elliott collaborate here to create a novel that is very hard to put down — despite its formidable length and flattish characters. What drew me in was the carefully designed world, the totally believable magic, the overall mood, and the centuries-spanning plot. This novel is set in Tirra Virte, an Italy-ish province where all official ceremonies and transactions are recorded not with words but with paintings. I thought for a moment — “Hey!
May 19th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Jennifer Roberson, Kate Elliott, Melanie Rawn | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Wind from a Foreign Sky by Katya Reimann
Gaultry is a young, beautiful, spirited huntress, who has been raised by her great-aunt, a hedge-witch, on the border of Tielmaran. One day, the outer world cruelly ends her idyllic life, as a squadron of soldiers seeks to abduct her, and she finds herself a key figure in a prophecy that will bless or curse the entire realm.
Katya Reimann creates, for the most part, a well-imagined world with some fresh touches. However, the kindest thing I can say about her telling of the story is that,
February 9th, 2010. Rob Rhodes´s rating: 2 | Katya Reimann | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
“I can steal anything.” With that boast, Gen sets into action a course of events that could affect kingdoms. When he boasts that he can steal the King’s Seal, and then delivers on his promise, he is arrested and thrown into prison, where he languishes until the King’s Magus approaches him with an offer: freedom if he can steal Hamiathes’s Gift, a legendary stone that carries with it the right to rule the kingdom of Eddis.
Megan Whalen Turner writes a delightful mythic fantasy that takes the reader on a secret journey through a country whose culture and religion are loosely based on Ancient Greece.
November 24th, 2009. Ruth Arnell, Tadiana Jones and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Megan Whalen Turner | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…